So this is for anyone who is intimidated by feathers, even though they are really, really easy. More information (LOTS more) can be found in the Animal Anatomy group: [link] The best and most informative wing tutorial I have found is by The Antimony Element, and can be found here: [link] Shell has a great tutorial on insanely detailed painted feathers (and fur) here: [link] AuroraCarina-Chan has another good wing tutorial, and although it focuses on angel wings, it's very informative for one of the first lines in it: wings are arms [link]

Also, watch "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill", not only because it is basically *G* in the form of a movie, but also because there is excellent close-up footage of birds doing all kinds of things even I didn't know they could do.

As for just how much perceived "bulk" feathers can add, check this out: [link]

Finally, for more inspiration, check out this gorgeous gallery of feathers at National Geographic: [link]

I find feathers a little difficult, but mostly the wings, especially in different positions. I'm getting better, though. Lately I practiced a bit in trying to draw wing feathers correctly, at least from one point of view (the inside of the wings) so that they feel a tad more realistic. At least more so than how I used to draw wings.

The hardest part about feathers, for me, is not so much drawing them, though. It's inking them in a program that I find harder. Well maybe not hard, but annoying.

Indeed. I've been reading Bernd Heinrich's Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival, and on page 112 he illustrates an adult songbird devoid of feathers. I was *way* off -- a plucked songbird looks "like a pink cherry on spindly legs".